Egg crate or box



' F. H. CHAMPLIN.

EGG CRATE 0R BOX.

(Application filed Mar. 10. 1897.)

No. 607,423. Patented July 19, i898.

(No Model.)

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NITE' STATES.

EGG CRATE OR BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 607,423, dated July 19,1898.

Application filed March l0 l 897- To all whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I, FRED H. CHAMPLIN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at East Long Meadow, in the county of Hampden andState of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in EggCrates or Boxes, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings and letters of reference markedthereon.

My invention relates to the construction of a device for carrying andhandling eggs with safety and convenience.

The object of my invention is to produce a device by which eggs in anydesired quantity may be conveniently handled and transported with safetyand convenience.

My invention consists in a construction whereby the eggs are supportedupon a cushion produced by the operation of springs and whereby the eggsare held between oppositelyarranged engaging pieces.

My invention also consists in an arrangement of telescoping oradjustable trays whereby one or more of said trays may be usedindependently or collectively and in the arrangement of handles wherebythe trays are secured to each other for the purpose of transportation.

My invention further consists in the construction and arrangement hereinset forth, whereby the objects of my invention are attained.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of referenceindicate like parts, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing severaltrays united in the position they occupy for transportation. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of a base-tray provided with a cover, the cover beingbroken away, disclosing a portion of the interior. Fig. 3 is aperspective of one of the intermediate trays with a part broken away,disclosing the interior arrangement of a network of, wires in the upperportion of the tray and a similar arrangement of wires in the lower partof the tray, those in the upper part being shown with eggs in position.Fig. l is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, showing the preferredarrangement of wires and springs; and Fig. 5 is a vertical sectionalView of a part of the trays in position with Serial No. 626,878. (Nomodel.)

reference to each other and showing also the one in which the eggs areheld.

In detail, a indicates the base-tray; Z), the cover; 0, intermediatetrays; d, ribs arranged in the trays; e, supporting-wires; f, transversely-arranged wires; g, springs; h, a cover for the wires;'t',handles, and j a strap.

The construction and arrangement of my device will be readily understoodon reference to the drawings.

The base-tray a is provided with a bottom and transverse ribs 61 and onenetwork for supporting the eggs. The cover is also provided with asingle network, while the intermediate trays c are provided with twonetworks, the upper network being adapted to receive the eggs beingpacked and the lower network being adapted to rest upon the eggsdeposited in the tray next below, so that the eggs are held betweencushioned surfaces both above and below.

The preferred form of network is that illustrated on an enlarged scalein Fig. 4, the wires 6 being formed in oppositely-projecting loops andextending from-rib torib, the central part of. the loops being connectedby springs g, orthese springs mayextend from transversely-arranged wiref to the loops adjacent thereto. In the manufacture it will of course befound most convenient to carry the wires across from side to side, thesame being passed around pins, tacks, or other attaching devices mountedin the ribs and at the sides of the trays, and in so doing it is foundmore convenient to carry the wire f across than to cut the wire andfasten it in position, and the attaching of the pins to thetransversely-arranged wire f is in some cases more desirable.

The looped portion of the wires are covered with a soft material It,preferably woolen or other similar textile, and these are secured tothe-wires in any convenient manner, preferably by thread.

The trays are arranged to telescope with each other, preferably byarranging the lower portion so as to set within the upper portion of thetray next below it, and I prefer to accomplish this by forming the sidewalls with both inner and outer rabbets, as shown most clearly in Fig.5, so that the exterior of the complete or built-up structure willpresenta uniform and unbroken appearance by reason of the outer wallsbeing flush with each other.

Each of the trays is provided with a handle 1', preferably made of cord,and the trays are preferably secured to each other by passin g thehandles of each tray through the bandles of the tray next below it inthe manner illustrated in Fig. 1, and the handles of the cover or uppertray are secured to each other by a strap j or other convenient means,thus forming a convenient handle by which the whole built-up structuremay be lifted. It will be seen that by this arrangement the pressureplaced upon the eggs is that exerted by the springs, an d if the springsare properly adjusted and by the right tension the eggs will be firmlyheld in position, so that danger of breakage is entirely avoided, asthey cannot come in contact with each other, neither can they bedislodged from the holding device, each individual egg being held in itsindividual holding device.

13y preference the trays are constructed to hold a very few eggs each.For instance, one tray may be constructed to hold one dozen eggs, and ifit be desired to transport that number only then the base-tray a andcover are all that are required, while if a greater number of eggs areto be transported then additional trays are employed to the extentrequired to transport the requisite number.

It will be seen that the position in which the trays are transported orplaced becomes immaterial, as with this construction and arrangement theeggs cannot be dislodged from their individual holding devicesregardless of the position of the device.

Ilaving therefore described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a base-.tray and one or more individual traysarranged with their bodies to telescope one with the other, a cover anda series of loops arranged in each tray, the ends of the looped piecesbeingfixed to a rigid wall and the intermediate portion ofoppositely-projeeting loops being united by a coil-spring and a flexiblecovering arranged over the loops to receive the eggs and means to securethe trays together substantially as shown.

2. In an egg-crate the combination of a case looped wires attached tothe case 0 and springs attached to the oppositely-projecting loops,substantially as shown.

3. The combination in an egg-crate, of a tray having looped wires 6;springs g and a covering it, substantially as shown.

:1:- The combination in an egg-crate of independent trays provided withtwo webs of looped wires, one web being looped in opposite direction tothe other with ad jacentloops connected by an intermed iai'ecoil-spring,substantially as shown.

5. The combination in anegg-crate of two or more independent traysarranged to lock together to prevent lateral movement between them andindependent flexible looped handles with their ends attached to theouter-side walls of each tray, each flexible looped handle being ofsufficient length to be looped or interlocked with the next flexiblehandle, a bottom and a top, and means to connect and draw toward eachother the top setof flexible loops which overlap the cover substantiallyas shown.

(5. The combination in an egg carrying crate of two or more independenttrays having their walls n'abbeted whereby the walls telescope with eachother, a series of oppositely-looped wires secured to the trays andarranged so that their loops cross each other, two in a set, and aseries of springs connecting adjacent loops so that the egg-receivingrecesses are formed between the oppositelyarranged loops substantiallyas shown.

FRED ll. CllAlll'lLIN.

Witnesses:

IIATTIE E. R001, 0. L. WoLcorr.

